1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for visualization training, specifically by interrupting the visual field of a user with a shutter.
2. Prior Art
In the past, the field of psychology has addressed many issues regarding the brain and its functioning. How it works and how it can be improved has been the focus of many areas of study. The brain has the ability to process 30 billion bits of information per second. However, even with our present understanding of the mind, we are still unable to fully tap the brain's vast potential. An area of brain function that is of vital importance is visualization or imagery. Visualization is the ability to "see" or imagine images with the mind alone, without input from the eyes. For example, one can visualize the experience of driving a racing car, scenes of a movie being made, a new aircraft design, or the experience of a personal relationship. Therefore, visualization is a vital part of creativity, imagination, and memory. Consequently, if our visualization skills can be improved, then our creativity, imagination, and memory can also be enhanced.
Ironically, the ability to use the eyes to see information can be as much of a disadvantage to learning as it is beneficial. Without doubt, the eyes are one of our most important senses. They are used extensively as an "input device" to the brain. However, relying too much on the eyes reduces the need for the brain to visualize and memorize information. For example, if visual information is viewed by the eye for an unlimited amount of time, there is no need to remember or recall this information. In fact, relying on vision to obtain information prevents the brain from being improved. Therefore, the solution is to reduce our reliance on our visual sense, forcing the brain to rely more on visualization and memory. As a result, these skills are exercised and improved. After all, muscles should be exercised and developed. Similarly, the brain should also be exercised regularly for its continued development.
Visualization techniques have been used for many years for different applications. Psychiatrists use a form of visualization, hypnosis, for purposes ranging from curing depression to helping crime witnesses recall their experiences. Terminally ill patients have been known to "mysteriously" cure themselves by visualizing or imagining getting well. Artists visualize or imagine their work before expressing their images on canvas, stone, or metal. Athletes, especially those who follow predetermined programs, such as skaters and skiers, visualize their performance repeatedly prior to competition as a form of practice. Napoleon fought battles in his mind, then found that the visualization made real battles easier to win. Albert Einstein said, "Visualization is more important than knowledge." He also said that he visualized riding on the end of a light beam to help him develop the theory of relativity. Obviously, a wide range of activities can greatly benefit from visualization.
Visualization can also help to improve memory as well. The recall of information, or memory, is often in the form of visual images. The mind's "eye" must first see the image before the person can remember. Therefore, if the ability to visualize is increased, the ability to remember should also be increased. According to a college textbook, "Imagery facilitates the teaming of information and produces good recall performances. Subjects taught to make up strange visual images of the material to be learned perform at a much higher level than subjects who do not use images. Presumably, encoding words as images somehow enhances the storage of the items in long-term memory. For hundreds of years memory experts have relied heavily on visual images to improve their performances." Lyle E. Boume, Jr. and Bruce R. Ekstrand, Psychology: Its Principles And Meanings. Fourth Edition, (New York: CBS College Publishing, 1982), page 155.
A visualized picture or image that is as clear as reality is referred to as hallucination. The brain cannot distinguish between what is vividly imagined, or hallucinated, from what is real. The ability of the brain to create such a "virtual reality" has been studied by using the technique of sensory deprivation. According to Dr. William Fezler, "Studies in the area of sensory deprivation provide even more data to substantiate that your imagery can be as vivid as reality. It was shown, for example, that if you remove the real world (outside), an imaginary (inside) one as real in appearance will soon materialize. Researchers sensorially deprived subjects, [i.e., they] removed the outside world, with a number of devices. They put halved ping-pong balls over the eyes to remove vision. The body was bound to eliminate touch. Nose, mouth, and ears were plugged to eradicate smell (and breathing!), taste, and hearing. Within six hours a whole new experience, graphic in all five senses, materialized. When the world was taken away, subjects created their own! You have the power to imagine so vividly that you can't tell your image from reality. This is the first major step to creation." William Fezler, Ph.D., "Creative Imagery, How to Visualize In AH Five Senses" (N.Y.: Fiveside, 1989, p. 84). Although highly effective, the ping-pong balls are inconvenient and uncomfortable to wear. Furthermore, they will make the users appear very silly indeed.
The Theory Of Props states that the senses can be heightened by plugging in the actual sensory experience while practicing visualization. According to personal development coach and author of the bestseller Unlimited Power, Anthony Robbins: "Most peoples' pictures are not that clear, although they could be. All you have to do is practice. And, how do you practice? Well, you don't try to master everything overnight. You take a look at somebody's nose, and you focus just on their nose, not their whole face and body. And, you look at it, and then close you eyes, and then you pretend that you are seeing it in you mind. . .Actually look at their nose--open your eyes, see the nose--close your eyes, imagine you're seeing it. You do it over and over until pretty soon you're opening and closing your eyes so fast . . .that your brain doesn't know when you're actually seeing it and when you're making it up, Pretty soon you'll get good at seeing the nose. You'll close your eyes and just be able to picture the nose. Then do nose and eyes. Then, nose, eyes, and mouth and the face and expand until you can see the whole person." Anthony Robbins, Personal Power cassette program (Robbins Research International, 1989). Produced by Guthy-Renker Corp., Moving Beyond Procrastination To Unlimited Power Anchoring Yourself To Success, Volume 6 Side 2B.
The Theory Of Props basically requires subjects to perform eye blinking. Subjects look at and study an image for a few seconds. Then, after closing the eyes, they attempt to continue to "see" or visualize the same image with the mind alone. This process is repeated while the rate of eye blinking is increased. The objective is to "trick" the brain into thinking that it is seeing the image when the eyes are closed. This technique helps the brain to develop its visualization skills. However, continued eye blinking can be extremely tiring, while it also cannot eliminate the distraction of the subject's surrounding environment.
Other techniques have also been developed for teaching. For years, flash cards have been used to drill individuals on particular subjects. The intent is to elicit a quick response by presenting questions briefly and rapidly to the individual. The eyes must quickly see what is being presented so the brain can process the information. Therefore, vision is important only for an instant, so that the brain must then focus on a solution to the question at hand. However, small, printed or handwritten flash cards are very limited in the information which can be presented. Furthermore, they cannot prevent the individual from being distracted by the surrounding environment.
Inventions such as tachistoscopes, stroboscopes, and stereoscopic viewers are also used to control the presentation of visual information. Recently, these systems have incorporated electrooptical devices to improve their versatility and performance. All these systems consist of a shuttering device and a control unit for synchronized presentation of visual information. The following is a brief description of these systems and their intended use:
A. Tachistoscopes are for exposing visual stimuli as pictures, letters, or words for extremely brief periods of time. They are used especially for testing perception. U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,673 to Blankenhom (1988) shows a tachistoscope using a pair of electro-optical light valves for wearing over the eyes of a subject. The valves are opened and closed in synchronization with alternating images presented by a television fed by two independent cameras. PA1 B. Stroboscopes are used for studying moving objects, especially those in rapid motion. It synchronizes the cyclic motion of an object with the visual presentation of the object to a viewer. An example is a spinning disk with holes or apertures on the edge through which a moving object is viewed. The rate at which the apertures pass the eyes is synchronized with the repetition rate of a repeating event, such as dripping water. As a result, the moving object will appear to be frozen. PA1 C. Stereoscopic viewing systems are used for conveying depth in two-dimensional images. This is accomplished by viewing two different perspectives of the same scene. Using a display device and two individual electro-optical shutters, one in front of each eye, the different perspectives can be rapidly alternated on a single screen and viewed by the appropriate eye. This yields a three-dimensional picture. The synchronized shutters and alternating perspectives happen so rapidly that the brain sees the two different perspectives at the same time. By displaying two perspectives of each frame in a motion picture, a three-dimensional motion picture will result. Examples of stereoscopic viewing systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,424,529 to Roese et al. (1984), and 4,698,668 to Milgram (1987).
In conclusion, the above techniques are either limited in the range of information that they can present, will quickly cause eye fatigue, or cannot eliminate distracting stimuli in the subject's environment. On the other hand, the above devices must all be linked and synchronized in some way with the information being observed or presented. Because of the need to synchronize the shutter devices to the visual information being presented, the equipment required is relatively complex, expensive, or difficult to use. Therefore, no current technique or device is appropriate for use as an aid for visualization training.